We say it time and again. The provisional teaching period is an extremely rewarding time in your career, but it can be exhausting to navigate.
This is because you are finding your feet as a teacher, completing the final aspects of your assessments, and trying to balance the rest of your life all at once.
It can be really easy to get swept up into doing all the things you think you ‘should’ be doing.
But, if you do that, it can be a one-way trip to burnout!
To navigate this time with your health and wellbeing intact, you will need to focus on what matters. That means prioritisation.
Yes, everything is important, but so are you!
Let’s look at some tactics you can use to prioritise the right things and not get bogged down with lesser important aspects.
Prioritisation
It is not physically possible to do 20 things at once. As nice as it would be to do ALL the important things at one time, it simply isn’t practical to achieve that. Prioritisation is going to be your sanity savior and will help you protect your health and wellbeing while trying to juggle all the things associated with provisional teaching!
Prioritisation will serve as a safeguard for your wellbeing amid the daily demands of teaching and progression. By clearly identifying and focusing on the most important tasks for that day or week, you can manage your time and energy more effectively, reducing the risk of burnout and stress.
Not only will prioritisation allow you to allocate your time and resources to the activities that will carry you towards your goals and professional growth, but you can also ensure you make space for self-care in your personal life.
This balanced approach ensures that you can remain passionate and motivated about what you do, fostering a positive and sustainable teaching experience for yourself and the tamariki in your Centre. Let’s now take a peek at how you can work out what you should be prioritising.
What Are You Trying To Achieve?
When you are prioritising, a great grounding thought is to consider what you are trying to achieve this week. Are you conducting research, working on an Inquiry, catching up with your mentor, or planning ahead for future Inquiries?
Having an idea of what you are trying to achieve will help you direct your energy towards that goal. It will help minimise the risk of distraction and create momentum for your progress.
When deciding what you are trying to achieve, consider the most important task for the week. Is there something with a deadline creeping up, do you need to complete one task before another can be actioned, is there something hanging over your head from last week or beyond, or do you have a milestone you need to meet before connecting with your mentor again?
These are all good questions to ask when prioritising what your next focus should be. There may be many potential tasks on your list that are important, but it is the important AND urgent ones that should be the first priority. If there are no immediately urgent ones, consider what could become urgent if not attended to now.
What Do I Want More Of?
A really helpful way to focus your mind and create good prioritisation is to follow a concept created by Michael Bungay Stainer. It involves reflecting on what you want more of and what you want less of in your professional life. An introspective practice, it helps you to stay focused on your goals and make deliberate choices that align with your values and aspirations.
This can apply to literally any area of your provisional teaching journey and your greater career once you become fully qualified. For example, you could consider:
- More of: Identify the aspects of provisional teaching that bring joy, fulfillment, and a sense of achievement. Whether it’s your inquiries, meaningful interactions with children, or professional collaboration, focusing on these positive elements can help to enhance your motivation and job satisfaction. When you are happy and positive about your days, it is easier to meet the various milestones of your certification.
- Less of: Recognise the activities or stressors that detract from your wellbeing and professional growth. By minimising these distracting factors, you can focus on what is really important. Try to come up with a solution for how you can easily remove the distractions or how you can gain the right support from your mentor or colleagues to navigate them.
This is not a one-off kind of exercise. To truly get the benefits of this approach, you need to regularly check in with yourself to evaluate whether your current actions are moving you closer to or further away from your goals. This self-assessment will help you stay aligned with your priorities and make adjustments as needed.
Consider Personal As Well As Professional
As you well know, ECE is an industry is a continuous cycle of learning and growth. Professional development will be on your radar already, but it is important not to neglect personal development too. The two can work hand in hand.
When you grow personally, you can gain new perspectives on teaching and life. This can help you to evolve as a teacher throughout your career.
In some instances, you can even work on both professional and personal growth at the same time. When you engage in reflective practice, seek feedback and set realistic goals for improvement, you learn good habits for all areas of your life – both work and home.
Also, remember that professional development isn’t just about attending workshops and other formal learning environments. It’s about integrating new knowledge and skills into your daily practice to enhance your effectiveness as an educator and receive the resulting reward of personal satisfaction!
You Are Important Too
Throughout your studies and certification, there will be a lot of demands on your time. While these professional demands are important, you need to prioritise yourself too. You won’t be able to give your full attention to anything if you are constantly tired and rundown.
So, it is crucial to remember that you are important! Part of your prioritisation should be dedicated to protecting your wellbeing and physical health. Your needs are every bit as important as those Inquiry deadlines.
It can be helpful to discuss this personal prioritisation with your Centre assigned mentor to ensure you are both aware of your capacity. An external mentor can also be a helpful resource to advocate for your needs, as it is so easy to forget about yourself when you are busy.
An external mentor, like myself, can help you to correctly allocate your priorities as you progress throughout your provisional teaching period. With a holistic view of your entire development, I can help you ensure all your vital deadlines are met, but not at the risk of your wellbeing.
If you’d like to discuss the potential for this extra layer of support, then I am only an email or a phone call away. Contact me now for a chat.
You can learn more here:
You can find out more about about my services on my website. The Kete Ako 6-month programme is a great way to start your provisional journey tailored to meet you where you’re at with insights into the expectations and what is involved, providing direction and clarity.
I also have resources that can be added to your toolkit. Click here to read more about the Roadmap or click here to purchase the Roadmap to Certification e-book for Provisional Certified Teachers. Alternatively, if you are wanting to learn more about my packages, reach out today.
Useful links:
My Website